July 25, 2012 — Grady Memorial Hospital has standardized and improved patient education and reduced by 75 percent the amount of time staff spend educating new patients about warfarin by implementing Emmi Solutions’ interactive multimedia program in its Coumadin clinic. This has allowed Grady, the largest hospital in Georgia and the public hospital for Atlanta, to add 138 patient appointment slots per month to better meet the needs of a growing heart disease population. This study was selected as a poster display at the 20thAnnual Health Forum and the American Hospital Association Leadership Summit to be held July 19 to July 21 in San Francisco.
Grady previously had to limit the number of new patient visits to its Coumadin clinic per day due to the length of time — nearly 90 minutes — required to help each new patient understand their condition and self-management responsibilities. This could delay the date of the first visit for new patients.
Despite Grady’s heavily underserved, older patient population – which includes many computer novices – 100 percent of patients participate in the interactive multimedia program during their clinic visit. The program educates them about their condition and treatment, and engages them to actively self-manage their care.
Grady Health System is one of the largest public health systems in the United States. Grady consists of the 953-bed Grady Memorial Hospital, six neighborhood health centers, Crestview Health & Rehabilitation Center, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding, which is operated as a Children's affiliate.
Emmi’s proprietary interactive communication methodology – which incorporates graphics, text and spoken words – delivers actionable health information to patients at key moments across the continuum of care. It has been demonstrated to help healthcare providers reduce costs, increase revenue and improve outcomes by engaging and empowering patients. The platform allows providers to track the delivery and consumption of information to measure the clinical and financial impact of patient engagement and meet regulatory guidelines. The web-based platform requires no installation or maintenance and can be used in stand-alone mode or fully integrated into existing systems.
For more information: www.gradyhealth.org